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Modifying a Lancia Beta Spyder
By Eric Weston, 1st June2000
Having owned and worked on many Beta Spyders for more than 10 years including a highly modified one powered by a Guy Croft engine. I have discovered several useful modifications that may be interesting for other owners of these great cars. In writing this I assume the standard parts to be in good condition particularly the following famous issues:
Engine mounts and front wishbone bushes rotten from oil contamination, leading
to torque steer, knocking or breaking exhausts and difficult gear selection
under acceleration. Engine shock absorbers seized or offering no resistance.
Top stay mount bushes torn away, Gear linkage pivots with semi-seized
cross-link so loose as to almost fall off, leading to very poor gear changing
particularly 5th and reverse.
Failing fuel pump, leading to missing on acceleration and high speed cruising,
which is often wrongly diagnosed as an ignition problem.
Bottom swivels semi seized requiring Hercules at the wheel
Door checks broken, which is
no fun in high winds, Ignition switch worn leading to erratic starting and
mysterious electrical faults
Pedal Box cross links semi seized, often leading to hard braking and the
clutch bell crank breaking.
Overheating due to the fan
and thermo switch connections and earth being little more than pure corrosion.
Breaking wires to the Bosch Hall effect distributor, leading to erratic
running. Calipers working on one pad, only due to slide corrosion
Radios fitted by scotch locking anything red when the car has a directly
available block connector for fitting a radio, front speakers and a power
Ariel.
Outer drive shaft boots spreading grease onto the brakes for added excitement.
Some things for consideration from my own experience that might help you to
enjoy your Beta Spyder as you should.
Suspension
If you fit a high performance engine you will find the car sitting on the rear wheels nose in the air if you attempt to accelerate with passion. Jamex supply progressive springs that lower the car by 33mm and prevent this motor boat behaviour. However the front bump stops must be cut in half to prevent bottoming. Many poor after market spring sets will fall out of the rear struts on droop unless they are wired in place! An OMP strut brace is also available which will tighten the handling even more. Monroe Gasmatic strut inserts are an advantage with these springs but tend to make the car sit high on standard springs.
Good bushes all round tightened in the correct position are a great investment. As is 4 wheel tracking. I have looked in vain for Polyurethane bushes; perhaps the Beta Consortium can tackle this one?
Gearbox
Changing the gear oil to a
synthetic 75w 90 like Mobil SHC can dramatically improve cold gear selection.
Later gearboxes were built to far better standards and normally only wear 1st
and 2nd gear Syncromesh with very high mileage or abuse.
1600 boxes particularly with a Delta Turbo flywheel give standard 2000 engines
sharper acceleration around town and are often in better condition than 2000
boxes.
VX Boxes give relaxed cruising but dull performance with a standard 2000
engine. However they are great for highly tuned engines. An I.E box is
probably the best choice for a fast road 2000 engines on twin 45s.
Gear Linkage
These usually need stripping cleaning and greasing throughout. Europa spares supply excellent heavy-duty ball joints to replace the totally inadequate standard cross-link. The front link can be screwed down to reduce play and the idler can be shimmed.
Chromed gear levers can be found on Beta Saloons making a cut down lever with an after market knob look smarter. 2 inches is the maximum for a shorter throw lever still within reach.
Interior
Din radios can be fitted behind the standard Beta plastic radio cover with obvious security advantages. Using the old metal front section cover fitted with the standard 4 screws but with the middle cut away modern cages can be located.
Interior door handles from an I.E. are far easier to use with their additional grab point. Replacing the nylon blocks with captive nuts and 6mm Allen head bolts will prevent having the handle pulling away from the door
Modern spec 100 w front speaker can be fitted to the original front location provided the wing fixing behind the speaker is cut down.
Visibility is improved by using Beta Coupe Door mirrors and a Beta Saloon interior mirror. Beta Coupe I.E. or VX instruments can be fitted for a brighter dash board. Back light bulb wattage can be doubled for clearer night instrument visibility.
I.E individually lit switches
can be used if an I.E. interior loom is sourced.
I.E. or VX seat belts are a better design and usually in better condition.
Check the bonnet pull cable on both sides before they break, as breaking a good bonnet top grill to get into the bonnet is distressing!
Wheels
Standard Beta wheels are often fitted with 195 x 60 x 14 wheels. I.E s and VXs used 185 x 65 x 14 as standard which I believe is the sensible maximum for standard 5.5J wheels considering the side wall deflection of the bigger tyres on standard Beta rims. Thema Turbo 16V wheels can be used to give properly located 195 x 50 x 15 tyres on a Beta Spyder and looks surprisingly good. 205 section tyres are difficult to fit to a Beta Spyder safely without rear arch modification.
Steering
If the steering is too heavy check the bottom swivels and front strut top bearings first then find a Beta Saloon rack which is lighter but has more turns lock to lock. For less turns lock to lock but heavier steering at parking speeds Europa Spares supply a Beta Race Quick rack kit. A Volumex Steering wheel with its thicker leather rim is very nice to have and should have been standard in my opinion.
Brakes
EBC supply street Kevlar pads for the excellent Beta brakes. These create less dust and have great fade resistance. Automec supply copper nickel brake pipe replacement kits and brass bleed screws to stop the infuriating seized bleed screw problem.
Use the best slides you can find and grease them with copper slip. If you can afford it get them grit blasted and zinc plated. With properly sliding calipers Beta brakes are excellent. I have found no advantage from Tarox discs over new standard discs with good calipers, slides and pads. Goodridge hoses and careful linkage adjustment do give a firmer more responsive brake pedal.
Bonnet
I.E. hinges fitted to a Spyder improve crash safety and allow an I.E grill to be fitted as long as you have the grill mounts removed from an I.E. (a hammer and chisel job).
Europa Spares of Staffordshire can supply a new heat resistant self adhesive bonnet lining to replace that flammable oily rag many Betas acquire. Ensure the crash safety pins at the rear corners of the bonnet are fitted, you would not want the bonnet pushing through the windscreen in a crash.
Lights
Beta headlights often fail MOTs on rusted reflectors. It is heresy but Capri headlights and backing plates will fit quite well. BMW 3 series lights will go on quite easily as well. If Beta lights are poor replace the electrical connectors and the earth connection.
Petrol lines
Inspect tank flexible petrol lines with care many are dangerously poor. Automec can supply new Copper Nickel rigid fuel lines. Flexible lines and clips are easily available from multiple sources.
Electrics
Wiring Products of Beeston supply a superb crimping kit with exactly the same AMP connectors as used all over a Lancia Beta. Overhaul the engine compartment and boot looms for dramatic improvements. Using silicon sealant in the back of the connectors will save you having to repeat the job. Two of the earthing connectors used behind a Beta dashboard can be used to replace the terrible earthing connectors below the headlights. Contact grease will keep them working.
If you are replacing an alternator get a 65amp one as used on Beta I.E.s. Investment in a top specification battery to Thema standard is a good idea if you intend to fit a high compression engine, electric window, stereo etc.
By wiring a relay through the grey wire to the wipers you can have 3 speed wipers instead of intermittent and 2 identical speeds.
If your washer pump is failing Europa sell one that bolts into the standard reservoir
To have modern indicators carefully clean the bulb holders on the tail lights and install local Earthing for these bulbs. Check the bulb holders at the front for corrosion. If necessary replace the bulbs and use contact grease. The addition of a Thema electronic flasher unit will give you reliable consistent indicators.
Rear fog lights must be on a relay in good condition. It has a hard life under the bonnet. The Hazard warning switch is a key junction in the indicator wiring with a poor switch giving strange intermittent faults.
Engine
A K&N in housing filter is available from Demon Tweeks so you never buy another filter and get a small performance gain.
A 1 inch cam belt is available from MRH Engineering in Rochester Kent (formerly Guy Croft Tuning) this is far safer and good for 40,000 miles. Later cam oil seals and cam base gaskets will stop your engine compartment looking like the Torrey Canyon disaster. Betacar provide a great complete belt idler bearing assembly this should be replaced on all Beta engines unless you know it has been done recently or you like rebuilding engines. A Delta Turbo Flywheel can be fitted for faster throttle response provided the bolt holes are drilled out to 12mm and care is taken to align it’s balance point 180 degrees from that of the clutch. Magnecor KV85 and Bosch HT leads are both excellent with good suppression and all weather performance. I am astonished how many people using 15 year + HT leads needlessly attack the auto-choke to try to fix poor starting on cold damp mornings.
Cooling
VX engines had a significant top water rail modification to stop the head gasket blowing when the heater is not in use. This is well worth copying and easily done. A good I.E radiator and cowling is significantly better than a carburettor one and essential for fitting twin 45s that can breath effectively with a block mounted distributor. The VX Fan assembly with wiring is great but difficult to use with twin 45s. By using a radiator fan switch from Fiat 128, (part no 7576281), the fan can be switched in at 81 degrees not 90 degrees giving a significant advantage as long as the right wire is connected.
Heater hoses should be anti-heat wrapped as they tend to fail due to exhaust heat. A Speedo cable should also be anti-heat wrapped to keep a working Speedo.
Clutch
The Thema 8v Turbo clutch should be used if you are going to increase the engines power at all and is now the sensible replacement if you need to change a clutch, (as long as you are not using a VX flywheel). Standard Beta clutches can not cope with tuned engines. A new Beta release bearing and nylon sleeve from Betacar is sensible for reliable use.
Exhaust
A CSC Manifold with a home made heat shield can get round the normal broken exhaust stud and broken flexible section problem and improve performance, without burning the steering rack rubber boot. A VX centre section and tail box with the first box replaced with straight pipe is a good repeatable performance exhaust that looks good and is not excessively loud.
Wipers
Converting the standard arms to push directly into plastic clips rather than side by side attachment improves operation. 1” wider spoiler blades can be effectively used.
I hope this information will prompt other owners to write on their experiences and solutions to the little problems that can be disappointing on otherwise excellent cars.
many thanks to Eric Weston for this infomation.
email: tony@mylancia.co.uk
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